illustrator Russell Jackson

Category Archives: drawing

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A new medium for me, dry pastel. I drew on the backing from a used up sketchpad. Not your usual smiling ‘selfie’ of today but well within the conventions of ‘brooding artist self portraits’ of which there are plenty of examples throughout history.

Like this:

If you draw a lot, you may notice unexpected connections or patterns pop up in your work—happy accidents if you like. While drawing the above lady enjoying her soup on the top-floor café of Halifax Public Library, I noticed a construction crane operating in the background. All of a sudden, they seemed to be working in tandem; as the lady carefully lifted the soup to her lips, the crane would heave its building materials. This revelation drove the drawing across the sketchbook, and the whole thing took on a life of its own.

Like this:

Here we see the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, and his three soon to be dewigged clerks. The clerks have complained about their itchy horsetail wigs for years, and will soon be able to cast them aside thanks to one of many reforms introduced by Mr Bercow in his efforts to modernize the Commons.